


Bad Decisions with Good Results

by dreamthievespart17



Series: Origin of Belonging [3]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Drug Use, M/M, brief non-serious suicide mention (you know when people say it casually but don’t mean it yeah that), first encounters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamthievespart17/pseuds/dreamthievespart17
Summary: Jiang spends the night with Proko and Kavinsky, much to everyone’s surprise.OrHow Jiang joins the Dream Pack
Relationships: Jiang/Joseph Kavinsky, Joseph Kavinsky/Prokopenko
Series: Origin of Belonging [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881607
Kudos: 5





	Bad Decisions with Good Results

Another late night. Aglionby’s library was open until midnight, a not-so-subtle reminder to the students of the establishment that they were in fact, pupils of one of the most elite schools in the country, so maybe they ought to consider studying like it. 

As the librarian called for lights out, Jiang packed up his belongings, slung his bag over his shoulder and made for the exit. Dark purple bruises encircled the area below his eyes, having become permanent after a month of sleepless nights at the new school. 

Jiang’s parents had high expectations – maybe too high – and they put great pressure on him to uphold their reputation through academic success at a school considered the most prestigious of the prestigious. 

In actuality, Aglionby was rife with corruption and dishonesty, from the students who miraculously passed exams that they’d slept through by having their parents donate a generous sum to this and that department to the kids who blackmailed their way into the most coveted internships. On some level, Jiang’s parents must have been aware of what really went on at the school, but rather than buying into the culture and paying their way to the top – as if the exuberant tuition didn’t already achieve the same result – they insisted upon remaining dissatisfied with Jiang’s work and continued to push him harder. 

That same pushing was what had led to nights like tonight, with Jiang leaving school at midnight on a Thursday, catching up on work most of the other students had already paid their way through. 

Crossing the courtyard, Jiang passed the math building and immediately began worrying about his upcoming test the next morning, nearly walking into the flagpole in the process. Swearing, he dodged the obstruction and trudged along until he reached the edge of campus. 

He was about to head towards the student parking lot to retrieve his car when another vehicle pulled up right in front of him. A white Mitsubishi by the looks of it, and hanging out the window were two boys Jiang had only heard of in passing, but never met. Proko and Kavinsky. 

Infamous at Aglionby in so many ways. The year before, they’d streaked across the courtyard in the middle of lunch and proceeded to distribute vodka to nearby students who were eating. While. Still. Naked. 

Not long after, they’d gotten detention for smoking in the library while skipping class. They could also frequently be found grinding up against each other in the hallway, one marking the other with a hickey. Technically, this wasn’t against school rules – Jiang had checked – seeing as it was an all-boys school and apparently the super-wealthy chose to pretend homosexuality didn’t exist rather than to admit its legitimacy in order to outlaw it in their sacred halls. 

So technically, they couldn’t be lawfully punished for it, but it still drew quite a few stares from passerby, which was probably the whole point. 

And then there was their Fourth of July party. The first was hosted last year and it was rumored to become an annual tradition. 

At this point it had been described so many times over that even the people who were actually there didn’t know what had happened. 

Sifting through fact and fiction had been difficult, so the most that Jiang could discern was that it had consisted of an all-night celebration filled with drinking, drugs, fireworks, and kids so high they forgot their own names. At least five people had to be rushed to the hospital for various reasons and the night was now legendary at the school. Ask anyone about it and they’d immediately launch into a tale of fire, cocaine and danger of the most reckless variety. 

In other words, Proko and Kavinsky were living gods at the school and Jiang now watched as they pulled over and gestured for him to approach them. 

His brain muddled with exhaustion, Jiang walked over to the carb 

As soon as he’d gotten close enough to make out their features, Kavinsky flashed him a vicious smile and spoke. 

“Hey, pretty boy, your name’s Jiang, right? I’ve noticed you seem to be actually putting in the time and effort to pass your classes. Don’t you know every bastard at this school has their parents pay off the principal to get them an A?” Kavinsky proposed this all matter-of-factly, as if it was common knowledge and Jiang should know better.

Jiang shifted, uncomfortable. “Unfortunately, my parents aren’t the bribing type.”

Kavinsky laughed at his response. “Of course they are. Every bastard here got into this school because their parents paid someone off. Besides, no one gets rich honestly.”

Jiang said nothing, still contemplating his words. In his exhausted state, it took longer than usual to process the meaning behind what Kavinsky was saying. It wasn’t like he was wrong. Jiang had been pushing himself harder than he ever had these past few weeks, yet he still remained with mediocre achievements, as far as Aglionby students went. Also, he’d been pushing for his parent’s sake, not his own. Sure, Jiang wanted to work hard and succeed academically, but he wanted to do it on his own terms. His teachers seemed to appreciate his lack of bribery and/or blackmailing attempts, but no matter what they wrote on his report cards, his parents were never satisfied. Always telling him to work more and sleep less, never proud of what he’d accomplished, there was little reward in fulfilling their demands. 

“How about you spend a night living how we live, pretty boy? Kavinsky asked, smirking. 

Jiang paused. Was Kavinsky joking? He genuinely couldn’t tell. If Jiang has been in a less depressed and sleep-deprived state, he might have brushed off the question and gone to get his car. But he wasn’t. So instead of thinking rationally, he just went with what he wanted in that moment – an escape. 

“Sure.” He said. 

“What?” Kavinsky replied, seeming genuinely puzzled. 

“Sure. I’ll come with you.”

“Wow. Gotta hand it to you, didn’t think you had it in you, pretty boy.” Kavinsky flashed Jiang another one of his threatening grins. “Get in the back and we’ll tell you what the plan is.” 

So he did. 

—

A couple hours later, Jiang felt better than he had in years. Yeah, maybe he was high as a fucking kite, but it wasn’t the drugs that were doing it for him – it was the company. Kavinsky and Proko were absolutely the most interesting people Jiang had ever met and he wished he could relive the night over and over and over again. 

After Jiang had jumped in the car, Proko had excitedly begun describing what they planned to do that night, from spray painting a giant dick onto the bridge, to buying a shit ton of sparklers to light all at once, to hitting up the guy Kavinsky got his weed from. 

As Proko talked, Jiang noticed a glimmer of a smile alight itself upon Kavinsky’s lips and he realized that their bond was a unique one, the kind of bond Jiang had never experienced with anyone, family friend or lover, and he wanted it. Badly. 

Soon enough, they began their bucket list of the night and Jiang got so caught up in the danger and excitement that he began to ignore his worries. 

And throughout it all, they talked. 

“So what’s the deal with your parents?” Kavinsky asked nonchalantly. 

“I don’t fucking know man.”

They were sitting on the bridge, smoking as they gazed out at the stars and for once, Jiang had no excuse for why his parents treated him like they did. 

“They’re kinda assholes to me, especially my dad.”

Kavinsky interrupted him with a short bark of laughter. “Oh I know the feeling,” he said, then went silent, encouraging Jiang to continue, so he did. 

“They treat me like shit. The only reason I work so goddamn hard at this school is because I have to live up to their ridiculously high expectations. Makes me wanna fucking off myself sometimes.” 

He took another drag on his cigarette. 

“Spend the rest of the night with us.” Kavinsky said suddenly. 

“What?” Jiang asked, turning to look at him. 

“You should. It’ll be fun.” Kavinsky reiterated, grinning. 

“Yeah, you should.” Proko chimed in. “We have a lot planned tonight, wouldn’t want you to miss out on any of it. Fuck your parents. Take some time to have fun.”

Jiang almost smiled. Almost. “Okay. I will.”

And now, there they were, sitting on Kavinsky’s couch, smoking pot as they sat in silence. Proko rested his head on Kavinsky’s neck, leaning into his warmth as Kavinsky absent-mindlessly brushed his fingers through Proko’s hair. 

Jiang felt a familiar pang in his chest – loneliness – as he realized that in a few hours, this would all be over and he’d go back to his boring, meaningless life of grades, stress, expectations and manipulative acquaintances. He’d give anything to be able to stay. 

Kavinsky looked up at him suddenly. “Hey. You know you’re not as much of a pussy as I thoughts you’d be.” Was that supposed to be a compliment? “If you ever wanna come back and hang with us, that’d be chill.” Was he…? “It might be nice to have someone around with a brain in their skull. Proko isn’t the brightest and I’m usually pretty coked up.” Proko smiled at that. “You’re smart, but not an asshole. You really proved yourself tonight. You can join us, if you like.” They sat in silence once more as Kavinsky and Proko waited for his response. 

“Yeah, okay. I’ll stay.”

Proko practically beamed and Kavinsky allowed himself a small smile as well. 

“Sounds great,” Kavinsky replied, “and you might want to stay over tonight since it’ll be a while since you’ll be able to drive.”

“Sure.”

Kavinsky spoke once more. “And just so you know… neither of us give a shit how you do in school. You probably work harder than both of us combined, so if you wanna get straight As go for it, but if you wanna pay your way through, it doesn’t make a difference to us. But if you’re going to work for your success, do it for yourself.”

“Welcome to your life.” Proko whispered and Jiang swore to himself that he’d never leave.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so Jiang actually has a work ethic that’s wild. I’d like to note that in my mind, Kavinsky is the most gifted student, he just refuses to apply himself (because Aglionby is hella corrupt so he thinks there’s no point), while Jiang is the one who actually tries.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you thought of the story!


End file.
